William Howard Taft

“ Only Congress can convey title to the land of the United States, and it makes no difference what was its equitable obligation to convey title under the original grant of 1845 in respect of indemnity lands. Congress certainly intended to convey as indemnity lands only those described in the act of 1891. There was no power in any one representing the United States, therefore, to convey indemnity land which was mineral in character, and any scheme by which conveyance of such land was obtained was a fraud upon the United States. ”

“ The 280 acres here restored to the government by the lower courts contained, according to borings and tests made in 1910, phosphates which ran from 61 to 66.84 per cent., and it appeared that at that time phosphate at 60 per cent. could be profitably mined. The land belonged to the United States. Singleton's plan was to secure the 320 acres in question as indemnity for school sections 16 conveyed by the United States to Florida under the Act of March 3, 1845, c. 75, 5 Stat. 788. Singleton arranged with one Stewart to induce the state land agent, Hampton, to make the selection. ”

“ That the lands appropriated by the preceding section shall be selected from any unappropriated, surveyed public lands, not mineral in character, within the state or territory where such losses or deficiencies of school sections occur; and where the selections are to compensate for deficiencies of shcool lands in fractional townships, such selections shall be made in accordance with the following principles of adjustment, to wit: For each township, or fractional township, containing a greater quantity of land than three-quarters of an entire township, one section ”